In spring of 2020, as the world's attention was intensely focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt strongly that we needed to remember also that we are in the midst of another world-wide crisis – that of global warming and the preservation of life as we know it on our planet. I had been following reports of one of the largest ice sheets, the Thwaites Glacier, which was melting at unprecedented rates. If it collapsed, it could destabilize neighboring glaciers resulting in a global sea-level rise of more than 11 feet. In a way, Glacial is a requiem for diminishing polar ice sheets worldwide and the animal species they support. It was also a wedding gift for my friends Rachel and Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, and it was first publicly heard on a research vessel in Antarctica during their ceremony.

The tremolo chords in the piano, which are featured throughout, reflect a musical urgency which speaks not only to the challenges of marriage, of two people coming together with one heart, but also of the choices we make every day that directly impact the future of life on our planet. The violin soars above the orchestra, evoking a sensation of looking down from great heights, providing a perspective only possible from a vantage point far above the earth. I released the recording in honor of Earth Day 2020, and it was used in a campaign for The Sierra Club called ‘The Outdoors for All’.

Composed and Performed by Tim Fain

©2020, Blind Bay Records